TENNESSEE AVENUE PEDESTRIAN PATH

Tennessee & 23rd is a tree-lined pedestrian way that was created in 2017 along the western side of Tennessee Street between 23rd and 24th Streets. The decomposed granite path and 28 street trees provide a pleasant pedestrian route between Dogpatch’s commercial center to the north and its art and maker warehouses to the south.

This block-long stretch of Tennessee Street has the backsides of warehouses on one side and a Ryder Truck rental bordering the other, but is anchored north and south by a new apartment complex and the Minnesota Street Project art galleries. Until recently, this section of Tennessee Street was an unaccepted street, not paved or maintained by the City. The stretch lacked sidewalks and unregulated parking made it a haven for on-street car storage and abandonment, campers, dumping, sideshows, graffiti and even fires.

The GBD, with funding from local developers, started by providing 200 feet of temporary timber and decomposed granite sidewalk to open up a pedestrian path. Next, the GBD partnered with Friends of the Urban Forest and lots of community volunteers to add twenty-eight new trees to the block. Then the GBD worked with the Municipal Transportation Agency to redesign the parking pattern, adding a dozen parking spaces, and to regulate parking to insure more turnover.

GBD crews maintain the block, looking after the trees and the new pathway and working to reverse old habits of misuse and neglect. Janitorial crews have been especially busy as the area can be plagued by trash and debris from the nearby freeway and MUNI yard. This project serves as an excellent example of how the GBD can leverage opportunities to maximize benefits.